One reason I refused to see Borat was it's pretense. The notion that you could have an urbane Hasidic Jew doing a derisive interpretation of a rural Muslim is akin to a white person doing blackface. What was more insidious to this notion was that Cohen claimed he was attempting to point out anti-semitism amongst the American population, while all he did was to reinforce negative stereotypes of Muslims. Listening to accounts of the Borat from my friends reinforced this belief, as they did not focus on the "social statements" Cohen claimed he was making, but rather the stupidity and backwardness of the Borat character. Funny or not, this man has no morality and deserves to be ignored.

It would have been larger evidence of his fearlessness, if at some point in the film, he actually allowed a penis into his anus. The risk there would have been allowing upon himself the possibility of a Showgirls' moment, where the actor might never be allowed to distance himself from an over-the-top film incident, which could leave him shunned. He seemed as non-sexual as a mime.

You wrote probably the best post on this thread.

There's a scene in The Bruce Lee Story where Bruce reacts to seeing that Mickey Rooney caricature. It's heartbreaking. I see the same look on my Chinese American husband's face when he sees a bucktoothed, squint-eyed 'Chinaman' in any movie or TV show (whether played by a Caucasian 'in drag' or Asian cast specificlly for that look.) It's shame.

I saw that scene, too. Didn't find it heartbreaking, though I could understand his frustration in a world where there were no authentic, masculine Asian images. As for you and your Chinese American husband, to each their own. You're offended. Okay. I don't remember my Chinese American cousin (who was my best friend growing up) ever having a similar response.

I'm the one who brought up the Mickey Rooney comment. The performance is hysterical, and obviously a cartoon. I wonder if people are as bothered by Khan on King of the Hill, Apu on The Simpsons, or Miss Swan and the two hispanic ghetto chicks on Mad TV or whether they're just willing to give themselves credit ("We can laugh because we know the producers know this is just comedy") that they won't give people who lived before them ("People who laugh at Rooney's Mr. Yushioshi are insensitive"). Blake Edwards directed Breakfast at Tiffany's. He later created the role of Cato, the aggressively trained valet to Inspector Clouseau for his Pink Panther series. I don't sense any kind of bigotry from Edwards or Rooney.